At present, many of the currency collectors used in conjunction with the electro-mechanical currency validator apparatus employed in vending machines which accept one, five, ten and twenty dollar bills in exchange for an equivalent value in coins, products or services are subject to pilferage because the currency collectors do not have a locking cover. In fact, typically the currency collector is accessible during the servicing of the validation apparatus and is not covered at the time the collector filled with currency is removed from the validator apparatus by the route person and emptied. An example of an open collector is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,260. Thus, these unlocked currency-containing collectors are subject to pilfering by the route person and other persons involved in the collection process.
Typically, the electro-mechanical currency validator apparatus used in conjunction with the unlocked currency collectors has a plunger for transferring currency through a passage to the collection receptacle after the currency has been accepted and validated. Further, such apparatus either has or is adaptable to having pivot means adjacent to one end of the passage. In such apparatus, after validation, currency, e.g., dollar bills, is delivered lengthwise to a space in front of the plunger which is reciprocated in response to a signal from the currency acceptor-validator to move the currency through the open end of the stacker receptacle so that currency which is fed sequentially to the validator apparatus is collected in a stack in the currency stacker receptacle.
In one attempt to overcome the problem of unlocked currency collectors, a currency collector having a locking cover has been introduced. The locked collector has a circular cross-section and is locked by rotating an internal partial cylinder from an open position to a closed position using a key operated external lock which coacts with a second lock on the collector. The external lock is designed to cooperate with the lock on the collector to rotate the internal cylinder to the locked position and to disengage the collector lock device from the external lock, thereby releasing the locked currency collector from the bracket carrying the external lock. In installing this currency collector, the external lock engages the lock on the empty replacement collector and rotates the internal cylinder to the open position while simultaneously engaging the internal and external locks to secure the collector to the bracket. However, this collector has found very limited commercial acceptance, apparently because the collected currency interferes with rotation of the internal cylinder so as to render the apparatus inoperable. Furthermore, it appears that this collector is not well protected against pilferage during mechanical servicing of the currency validation apparatus because currency can be removed by removing fasteners from the pivot bar.
Other attempts to eliminate the problem of open or unlocked currency collector receptacles have involved complete replacement of both the currency validator and stacking apparatus. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,230 discloses a combination currency validator and collector apparatus wherein the currency collector is closed with a locking cover prior to the removal of the currency collector therefrom. U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,931, too, discloses a different type of combination currency validator and collector apparatus wherein the currency collector is closed with a cover which is locked in place prior to separation of the currency collector from the currency validator. However, the redesign of the combined validator-collector apparatus to achieve a locked currency collector is expensive because the collector is only one part of the combined apparatus and this method of attaining a covered and locked collector tends to be complex in design and operation.
An alternative to the solution of the problem by redesigning the combination collection apparatus is the apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,092 wherein the plunger for transferring currency is included as part of the currency stacker receptacle. This approach is complex and expensive, too, because the plunger unit and means of operating same are included within the locked currency receptacle.
The foregoing discussion indicates that there is a need for a locked or lockable currency collector which is inexpensive, simple in design and can be used in conjunction with currency validation apparatus currently in use.